Victim: Roxie Archer, aged 23 months, died hours after her mother Sophie had flown to New York

A 23-month-old girl was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend who then took to Facebook to construct an alibi for what he had done, a court heard today.

Roxie Archer died from a 'devastating' brain injury inflicted by Ben Raftery, 21, just hours after her mother had flown out to New York to celebrate her 21st birthday, the jury were told.

Afterwards he allegedly altered a Facebook post to make it look like the girl had banged her head on the floor in McDonalds.

The girl's mother, Sophie, was only in the US with her father for a matter of hours before she was told that her child had been seriously injured.

The court heard that Raftery dialled 999 in the early hours of March 10 last year to say that Roxie had fallen down the stairs at her home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

She died the next day in Tameside Hospital but it emerged that she had also suffered extensive bruising and retinal haemorrhaging.

Manchester Crown Court was told that a post-mortem examination concluded the injuries were non-accidental and they would have been inflicted while the defendant was looking after Roxie.

Roxie's mother flew to America on March 9while Raftery, her boyfriend of 16 months, was left to look after the child in their terraced home. The girl was later due to be passed on to her grandmother.

Kate Blackwell QC, prosecuting, said: 'The trip was due to last five days. She had only been in New York for a matter of hours when she received news that Roxie was very ill in hospital. In fact she was being kept alive on a life support machine.

'Roxie had been left in the sole care of Ben Raftery. It is the prosecution's case that within 24 hours of being in sole charge the defendant had beaten her to death.'

The court heard that Roxie had no visible injuries or bruises by 3.30pm on March 9 after Raftery had taken her to the family GP because she had a cough and cold.

But by 5pm he told a relative that Roxie had banged her head walking into a door at the town's McDonald's restaurant.

'Attack': Roxie Archer, 23, died after allegedly being attacked by her mother's boyfriend in this street in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester

The Crown say this was a lie which was 'carefully contrived and extensive in its execution'.

He went on to put up a photograph of Roxie on his Facebook page with the caption: 'Aaah my little princess with a bang on the head at McDonald's. Now she is saying naughty door. Loved today spending quality time with my little princess. Going to bath her and put her to bed, missing Sophie loads.'

But the day after Roxie's death he was said to have changed the Facebook status to say 'Aaah my little process when she banged her head on the floor at McDonalds and said naughty floor'.

Shortly before 12.30am on March 10 he rang emergency services to say Roxie had fallen down the stairs at their home.

Paramedics arrived to find her lying on a bed in the upstairs bedroom, the jury was told.

'One of the paramedics thought it strange that she had been carried back up the stairs,' said Miss Blackwell. 'Her breathing rate was slowing, she was very pale and had a blue tinge to her skin.

'She was in a very sick and critical condition.'

The defendant said he had left the stair gate open by mistake, the court heard.

His behaviour at the hospital, says the prosecution, 'seemed somewhat strange'.

Miss Blackwell said: 'He seemed only to be concerned about his own welfare. He was heard to say "I'm scared, they are going to do me for this".

'He failed to apologise to what had apparently happened to Roxie in his care.'

Raftery moved in with Sophie Archer
within weeks of meeting her in November 2011 and at first appeared to
bond with her daughter, the prosecutor said.

'He taught her to call him daddy,' she said. 'Soon he began to refer to her as 'daddy's little girl'.'

But he would also 'engage in cruel
behaviour towards her' such as holding her upside down by her ankle to
'toughen her up' and picking up one end of a sofa by surprise as she sat
on it.

By February 2012 Roxie did not want to play with him, the court heard.

On one occasion it was said he stormed
out of the house when she would not say goodbye to him as he left for a
trip to Amsterdam.

'In his absence when asked if she wanted to see him again she said no,' said Miss Blackwell.

The prosecutor said that a pathologist, a neuropathologist and an
eye specialist had later all agreed the injuries to the head and body
were non-accidental.

Those injuries were considered to be a strong indication of traumatic head injuries, possibly including vigorous shaking, the jury was told.

Extensive bruising to the face, head and limbs were also consistent with prodding or nipping having taken place.

Miss Blackwell said: 'The pathologist's conclusion is that the only credible explanation for the head and brain injuries is that Roxie had been forcibly and repeatedly punched and also possibly slapped across the head.'